ACS: Law Solicitors

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will (a) regulate the activities of ACS: Law Solicitors, and (b) oversee their access to Norwich Pharmacal orders by courts.

Lord McNally: As the legal profession and its regulatory bodies are independent of government and self-regulating, a complaint about the activities of a firm would need to be made to the appropriate approved regulator as defined in the Legal Services Act 2007.
	The Solicitors Regulation Authority, which is responsible for the conduct of solicitors, has informed me that it is undertaking an investigation into ACS: Law Solicitors the results of which will be published shortly.
	Applications for orders under the Norwich Pharmacal jurisdiction are made to the courts, and is a matter for the court to decide whether each individual application is granted.

Algeria

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, or propose to take, to encourage religious freedoms in Algeria.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Algerian constitution provides for freedom of belief and prohibits discrimination on the grounds of a person's religion. The UK discusses the human rights situation in Algeria, including freedom of religion and belief, with the Government of Algeria both bilaterally and through EU and UN mechanisms. Under the EU-Algeria Association agreement, Algeria has made a commitment to prevent discrimination on grounds of religion in relation to education, employment, training and housing, and to ensuring that those who consider themselves victims of discrimination have access to judicial and administrative procedures to challenge their treatment.

Armed Forces: Aircraft

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what funds have been made available to BAE Systems for development work on unmanned aerial vehicles.

Lord Astor of Hever: Since 2000, contracts with a total value of some £160 million have been placed with BAE Systems for unmanned combat air system and unmanned air system development and risk reduction work.

Bangladesh

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action the United Kingdom has taken over the past five years to help Bangladesh combat the impact of rising sea levels and river erosion resulting from melting ice in the Himalayas.

Baroness Verma: Since 2004, the UK has supported two programmes-the Chars Livelihoods Programme and the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme-that have so far reduced the vulnerability of more than 900,000 poor Bangladeshis to climate change. This has been achieved by raising homes above flood level, strengthening embankments, building cyclone shelters and improving early warning systems.
	In 2008, we helped the Government of Bangladesh develop their climate change strategy and action plan. The plan sets out a comprehensive approach to tackling climate change by strengthening food security, managing disaster risks, promoting energy efficiency and low-carbon growth, and building human and institutional capacity. This will benefit 15 million of the most vulnerable people. We have committed £60 million to the Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF) to support the implementation of the plan.

Broadband Delivery UK

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government who are the members of the board of Broadband Delivery UK appointed to serve under the interim chief executive; and what are their (a) positions, (b) relevant practical, theoretical and educational backgrounds, (c) remuneration, (d) monthly time commitments, and (e) periods of appointment.

Baroness Wilcox: Broadband Delivery UK was set up on 1 April 2010 as a team within the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. In line with normal practice the team reports to a BIS senior civil servant, who reports to BIS Ministers. Broadband Delivery UK does not have a board.

Civil Service: Redeployment

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to outsource civil service jobs and to move public service jobs offshore.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: As part of the drive to reduce the UK's budget deficit the Government will need to ensure value for money across public services. A wide range of measures will be considered to achieve this and no decisions have been made by the Cabinet Office on outsourcing or to move public sector jobs off shore.

Employment

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the economically active population are in part-time employment; and whether resources to increase flexible working are intended to achieve more part-time, rather than full-time, employment.

Baroness Wilcox: In the quarter January to March 2010 there were 7.71 million working part time of which 6.54 million were employees. The rest were largely made up of the part-time self-employed.
	The right to request flexible working gives employees (rather than individuals) the right to request a contract variation. This means that individuals can make requests to change their way of working to accommodate caring commitments. This can include requests to work from home; to change the time their working day starts or finishes; to work compressed hours (e.g. to work longer hours for four days each week in order to take the 5th day off); to work term time only; or to work part time.
	The coalition agreement commits to: extending the right to request flexible working to all employees, consulting with business on how best to do so. This is intended to give all employees more choice and flexibility in their working practices to enable them to balance their work and family commitments.
	It is for individuals and their employers to agree on the working pattern that is most appropriate.

EU: Financial Assistance to Member States

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that United Kingdom taxpayers will not be required to make financial contributions to eurozone countries which are experiencing financial and economic problems; and, if so, how.

Lord Sassoon: EU finance Ministers at an extraordinary meeting of the ECOFIN Council on 9 May agreed to establish a European financial stabilisation mechanism to support euro-area member states, totalling €500 billion.
	Up to €440 billion of the sum would be provided by euro-area member states (and others who choose to participate) through a special purpose vehicle. The UK has chosen not to participate in the special purpose vehicle and will not make contributions; and there is, therefore, no question of any liability arising to the UK.
	Up to €60 billion of emergency finance could be provided in accordance with Article 122(2) of the Lisbon treaty. Should this element of the mechanism be called upon, the European Commission would raise the money on the capital markets, guaranteed by the EU budget. Loans would be granted in parallel with IMF programmes and would be subject to policy conditionality. Only where there were defaults on loan repayments would there be a cost to the EU budget.
	In this circumstance, all member states would be liable for a share through their monthly subscriptions to the EU budget: based on the UK's contribution to the 2010 EU Budget, the UK's share would be approximately 13.6 per cent of any increase, or up to a maximum of around €8 billion. Any increase to the UK's contribution would be within the limits of the EU own resource ceiling already agreed by Parliament through the European Communities (Finance) Act 2008.

EU: UK Membership

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will commission an independent cost-benefit analysis of the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government have no plans to commission such an analysis. We believe that membership of the EU is in the national interest of the United Kingdom. We intend to champion vigorously the interests of the UK and play an active role within the EU on areas of common interest.

EU: UK Presidency

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultations they are undertaking to prepare for the UK presidency of the Council of Europe in 2011; and what will be their priorities for that presidency.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Preparations for the UK chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), which begins in November 2011, are at an early stage. UK priorities will focus on the CoE's core activities: human rights, the rule of law and democracy. A high priority will be the reform of the CoE, including the European Court of Human Rights, to enable it to carry out its mandate as efficiently as possible.

European Gendarmerie Force

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the status of the European Gendarmerie Force; what is its purpose; and whether they plan for it to be deployed in Britain.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The European Gendarmerie Force (EGF) is a police force with a military status that has full police powers in the jurisdiction of participating states, capable to respond to the full spectrum of police missions, both under civilian and military control. The UK is not part of this initiative. The Government see no circumstances in which they would consent to an EGF operation in the UK.
	The EGF is a multinational initiative of five states: France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. It is aimed at improving crisis management capability in sensitive areas and supports peacekeeping missions around the world. Romania joined on 17 December 2008. The cost is borne by the participating countries.
	The legal basis for the EGF is the treaty concluded between the signatory states. It is an international treaty concluded between the signatories in their capacity as sovereign states, not as member states of the EU. Consequently, the treaty was not concluded under the EU treaties. As such, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has no jurisdiction to rule on the treaty.
	The treaty does provide (Article 5) that the EGF may be put at the disposal of the EU. However, action taken by the EDF if acting in this capacity would be an operational not legislative matter, and therefore would also not be subject to the jurisdiction of the ECJ.

Government Departments: Ministerial Code

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government which ministers provided written instructions to departmental accounting officers under paragraph 5.5 of the Ministerial Code since the beginning of 2010; and what were the matters covered by such instructions.

Lord Sassoon: The information sought is set out below.
	
		
			 Date Dept Minister Direction Category 
			 2010 DCLG Rt Hon John Denham MP Proposals for new unitary local Government structures for Devon, Norfolk and Suffolk VFM 
			 2010 MOJ Rt Hon Jack Straw MP Pleural Plaques Regularity and VFM 
			 2010 MOD RT Hon Bob Ainsworth MP Basra memorial wall dedication ceremony VFM 
			 2010 BIS Lord Mandelson North West Development Agency's funding for Blackpool Leisure Assets VFM 
			 2010 DCLG Rt Hon John Denham MP North West Development Agency's funding for Blackpool Leisure Assets VFM

Government: Ministerial Visits

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, Andrew Robathan, did not use the Eurostar and local transport to attend the 70th anniversary event in Dunkirk.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans used the most cost-effective and efficient methods to join the commemorations of the 70th anniversary of Dunkirk. The option to travel by Eurostar and use a car sourced locally by the British Embassy was investigated and would have cost approximately £1,952, broken down as follows:
	
		
			 Item/Cost Minister (£) Officials (£) Total (£) 
			 Eurostar 135 135 270 
			 Embassy Car 1,600 0 1,600 
			 Accommodation 0 50 50 
			 Subsistence 12 20 32 
			 Total 1,747 205 1,952 
		
	
	The travel and subsistence costs actually incurred were approximately £810.

Independent Networks Co-operative Association

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ask the National Audit Office to investigate the formation, management and accounts of the Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA); what progress the Financial Services Authority has made in investigating the organisation; how much money they have paid to INCA since its formation; and which department made those payments.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what performance indicators had to be met prior to the first payment to the Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA) on 15 March by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; how much was the payment and any subsequent payments; and whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the business plan and cash flow projection submitted to the department prior to its consideration of the funding offer.

Baroness Wilcox: No evidence has been presented to the Government that suggests any need for the NAO to investigate INCA.
	The FSA has not had any reason to investigate INCA. INCA was formed in November 2009 and its filings with the FSA are publicly available and up to date.
	A grant offer letter was made to INCA by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills in December 2009. Under the terms of the letter a grant of up to £150,000 was available.
	Payments under the terms of the offer letter have been made to INCA as follows:
	11 March 2010-£31,750.00;
	30 March 2010-£14,089.46; and
	20 April 2010-£13,053.62
	The total amount paid to date is therefore £58,893.08. The performance indicators that have to be met by INCA are set out in the grant offer letter. They are:
	the Independent Networks Co-operative Association ("the company") should be registered and operational by 31 December 2009;the company should be able produce upon demand forward strategy documents and record of activity and achievements;the company must submit to the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) "the department" quarterly reports on progress against key performance indicators and financial statements of income and expenditure and risk assessment/mitigation;the company should be able to demonstrate independent operation by 31 August 2010, employing its own management team and core staff;the company should be able to demonstrate its contribution to the adoption of common standards for local and community projects;the company should meet the target number of member companies agreed with the department;the company should be able to demonstrate the impact of operation on the development of the telecommunications sector; andthe company must demonstrate that it has regard to the equalities duties in the Disability Discrimination Act, the Sex Discrimination Act and the Race Relations Act.
	The grant offer letter has been released following a Freedom of Information Act request and is available on the BIS website at www.bis.gov.uk.
	Further documents relating to the grant offer are the subject of a request under the Freedom of Information Act and will be released subject to the exemptions in the Act.

Inflation

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the consequences for inflation of an increase in the VAT rate to 20 per cent.

Lord Sassoon: The Government will set out the latest assessment of economic prospects in the Budget, taking account of all relevant factors.

NHS: Service Providers

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to retain the Co-operation and Competition Panel; and when they propose to convert Monitor into an economic regulator.

Earl Howe: We propose to develop Monitor into an economic regulator to oversee aspects of access, competition and price-setting in the National Health Service. Legislation for this will be in the Health Bill announced in the Queen's Speech.
	In the mean time, the Co-operation and Competition Panel has a role in providing advice to the Secretary of State on the application of competition rules in the NHS. We expect this function to continue during the transition towards establishing the economic regulator.
	Further proposals will be published in due course.

Nigeria

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, or propose to take, to encourage religious freedoms in Nigeria.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Our High Commission and Department for International Development (DfID) in Nigeria have supported non-governmental organisations in northern Nigeria to facilitate dialogue between Christian and Muslim communities. Our High Commission in Abuja continues to stress to Nigerian authorities at state and federal level the need to ensure that Nigerian citizens of all religious affiliations have the security and protection required to worship freely and live their lives in accordance with their beliefs.
	Following the horrific loss of life around the city of Jos earlier this year, DfID and our High Commission in Abuja are also exploring further ways in which they, with international partners, are able to help the process of reconciliation between religious and ethnic communities.

Northern Ireland: Operation Banner

Lord Bew: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of Operation Banner.

Lord Astor of Hever: Information dating back to 1969, when Operation Banner started, has not been retained. It is possible to provide data from the point at which General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland was allocated his own budget to manage. Changes in Ministry of Defence accounting methodologies over time make year-on-year comparisons difficult.
	The figures in the first table are the cash outturn for the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland top level budget which was first created in 1991-92.
	
		
			 Year 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 
			 £ Million 355 436 489 510 475 494 508 509 528 535 
		
	
	The second table shows outturn figures for the same top level budget for financial years 2001-02 to 2005-06. In 2001-02 resource accounting was introduced in the Ministry of Defence. The practice of the time was to include cost of capital charges and depreciation in the final outturn figures for top level budgets.
	
		
			 Year 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 
			 £ Million 614 718 653 626 580 
		
	
	In 2006-07 cost of capital and depreciation charges were removed from top level budget accounts. The following figures therefore reflect cash outturn only.
	
		
			 Year 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 £ Million 389 232 131 114

Papal Visit

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what conclusions they have drawn from the recent remarks by Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials about the forthcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI.

Lord Howell of Guildford: As the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has made clear publicly, the memorandum containing the offensive suggestions for the papal visit was ill judged, naive and disrespectful of some key tenets of the Catholic faith. It did not in any way reflect the FCO's views. We have apologised to the Vatican and the leaders of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and in Scotland.
	Appropriate action has been taken in relation to the staff involved, none of whom will have any further involvement in the visit. In one case, a member of staff has received a formal final written warning.
	We strongly value the close and productive relationship between the Government and the Holy See and look forward to deepening this further with the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the UK later this year.

Rural Payments Agency

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will initiate a review of the Rural Payments Agency.

Lord Henley: An independent review of the RPA, commissioned by Defra recently concluded. We will publish the recommendations of the review and our response to it shortly.

Shipping: General Lighthouse Authorities

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much Trinity House spent on strengthening lighthouse foundations to cope with rising sea levels in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008, (d) 2009, and (e) 2010.

Earl Attlee: Trinity House has not incurred any expenditure on lighthouse foundations with respect to increased sea levels as a result of global warming during those years.

Transport: Roads

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they give on whether the same organisation can carry out the environmental impact assessment and the route design for a road project.

Earl Attlee: There are no restrictions on the same organisation carrying out the environmental impact assessment and the road design for a road project. The Design Manual for Roads and Bridges published by The Stationery Office and produced by the Highways Agency for the Department of Transport provides the guidance for the environmental impact assessment of trunk road projects. The guidance is based on the principle that assessment and design are very closely linked and are part of an iterative process. It has been industry best practice for many years that the designers of projects also carry out the environmental impact assessment as they are often best placed to undertake that assessment.

Turkey

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to make representations to the Government of Turkey about allegations of discrimination against the Alevi adherents of Shia Islam.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government continue to encourage Turkey to take forward reforms to address the rights of ethnic and religious communities.
	The religious freedom of minority groups in Turkey is also covered in the European Commission's annual progress reports on Turkey's accession process, and is raised regularly as part of the EU dialogue with Turkey. The Government support EU efforts to raise the issue of minority rights with Turkey at every appropriate opportunity.
	The Government have no plans to make additional representations on behalf of the Alevi at this time.

Turkey

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to make representations to the Government of Turkey about allegations of discrimination against members of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government support EU efforts to raise the issue of minority rights with Turkey at every appropriate opportunity, and continues to encourage Turkey to take forward reforms to address the rights of ethnic and religious communities.
	The religious freedom of minority groups in Turkey is covered in the European Commission's annual progress reports on Turkey's accession process, and is raised regularly as part of the EU dialogue with Turkey.
	The Government have no plans to make specific representations on behalf of the Greek Orthodox Church at this time.

Uganda

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, or propose to take, to encourage religious freedoms in Uganda.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Our High Commission in Kampala closely follows all aspects of the human rights situation in Uganda, including religious freedom, and regularly discusses these issues with the Ugandan Government. We assess there to be a good level of religious freedom in Uganda.

Unemployment

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what forecast they have made of the effect on unemployment levels of an increase in the VAT rate to 20 per cent.

Lord Sassoon: The Government will set out the latest assessment of economic prospects in the Budget, taking account of all relevant factors.